The t-shirt printing business is one of the fastest rising businesses today. Not only that, t-shirt printing has actually become so popular not only for business purposes – numerous hobbyists, and do-it-yourself enthusiasts also try t-shirt printing at home.
And it is easy to see why t-shirt printing can be very appealing to many: it can be simple enough to be done at home that you can easily start your very own business, or, if you’re planning to do it just as a project or a hobby, it can actually be fun. On top of that, t-shirts can be excellent gifts for your loved ones and friends.
If you’re one of the many people who are interested in venturing into the t-shirt printing business or wanting to try to make your printed t-shirt at home, it would be quite beneficial for you to learn the basic details about t-shirt printing.
Using heat is among the easiest and most used methods in transferring creative prints on to the fabrics. Heat transfer papers, or simply transfer papers, are placed on either an inkjet printer or laser printer where the actual design would be printed on. Then, the transfer paper would be pressed on the t-shirt itself. A heat press or flat iron is used to make the design stick to the fabric.
There are different types of transfer papers that you can use in the process of t-shirt printing. Learning about their differences can help you determine which one will be most suitable for the business or hobby you are planning to engage in.
However, one of the first things you must keep in mind before buying transfer paper is that there are certain transfer papers that work best for various scenarios.
For instance, there are transfer papers that are specially made for inkjet printers, and there are others that would be more compatible with laser printers.
Types of Transfer Paper According to Printer Type:
Inkjet Printer
If you already have an inkjet printer at home, then that’s good news for you because most transfer papers work well with almost any standard inkjet printers. Brands such as FOREVER, Neenah, and Paropy offer premium heat transfer papers for home owned inkjet printers.
Laser Printer
Another type of printer most commonly found in regular homes is the trusty laser printer. Unfortunately, unlike inkjet printers, not all laser printers work well with the majority of standard heat transfer papers. Therefore, you have to exert a bit more effort to find a transfer paper specifically designed for laser printers. Products like Lasersoft EZ Peel Paper as well as Image Clip Laser Paper are some of your best bets when it comes to printing from a laser printer. Also, it is worth mentioning that outputs printed from laser printers are prone to produce outlines or residues around the images; so, you have to remember to trim carefully and meticulously. However, if you want to be extra sure that the image is weeded well or if you simply don’t have the time to go through all the fuss of weeding, you can just buy self-weeding heat transfer paper – Image Clip and FOREVER have self-weeding transfer papers, along with other brands.
Types of Transfer Paper According to Color of Fabric:
Light Transfer Paper
Light transfer paper is used for garments that are white or have really light colors. It is important to note that light transfer papers will work well with light colors and ONLY light colors – because printing on a light transfer paper with the intent of transferring the image on to a dark colored fabric will result in the image being invisible or extremely opaque.
Images printed on light transfer paper should be mirrored before printing.
Dark Transfer Paper
While light transfer paper works for white colored fabrics, dark transfer paper works excellently for any color other than white (actually, it WILL work on white, but dark transfer papers are a little more pricey than light transfer paper).
Images printed on dark transfer paper DO NOT need to be mirrored before printing.
Heat Transfer Paper for Glossy Finish
There are special glossy transfer papers that will allow you to give your prints a shiny touch. Glossy heat transfer paper would be able to do that job for you when pressed on top of your printed design. However, most glossy heat transfer papers would require a heat press to do the job, and not just your household iron.
Brands like TransGloss Heat Transfer Paper and Dazzle-Trans offer glossy finishes for your prints.
All in all, the answer to what’s the best heat transfer paper out there would greatly depend on your needs and your preferences.
If, for you, t-shirt printing would be a hobby that you would just want to explore and have fun with, it would be more practical to consider what you already have at home – for instance, if you have an inkjet printer, check the heat transfer papers that are compatible with inkjet printers; and inkjet -compatible paper transfer would be the best for you.
If it is a do-it-yourself project where you would get to make all the decisions such as the color of fabric you will be using to print on, you can select a light transfer paper.
On the other hand, if you are planning to invest more in t-shirt printing and intend to start a business from it, you might want to factor in other elements. For instance, if you start a t-shirt printing business, of course, your clients will get to decide the color of garments you would print on, and there’s a big possibility that you would have to purchase dark transfer papers, too, to meet the demands of your customers.
Also, if you have a lot of time to work on your printed shirts that you can devote some of your time weeding the transfer papers, then there’s no need for you to buy self-weeding transfer papers. But, if you’re in a big t-shirt printing business and keep getting bulk orders, it might be wiser to go for self-weeding transfer papers to get the work done faster and minimize the possibility of getting residues around the printed images.
In other words, there’s no single ‘perfect’ heat transfer paper. All will work well if you just know how to choose.